Go Behind The Crime Scene Tape With Sunshine Cleaning

Ladies and gentleman, start your quirky engines! That word seems to be taking over the indie film world lately more than ever. It can be a beautiful thing, but it’s also dangerously easy to overdo the use of oddities and wind up with a film that either makes audiences uncomfortable or leaves them wondering if they’ve seen it before. On August 25th, Overture Films will let you decide for yourself which of those camps Sunshine Cleaning falls into.

Amy Adams stars as Rose, a single mother trying to make a living working for a maid service. Cleaning up after other people is hard enough, but to make matters worse, Rose winds up cleaning the beautiful home of a high school friend. Determined to create a better life for herself and her son (Jason Spevack), Rose recruits her slacker sister Norah (Emily Blunt) and starts her own cleaning service...cleaning up crime scenes. Initially Rose has a hard time switching from mopping up soap scum to bloodstains, but eventually the sisters get the hang of things and wind up learning a lot about each other while building their business.

Sunshine Cleaning screams Little Miss Sunshine, but what’s wrong with that? It may not be as good as Little Miss Sunshine, but it works with what its got and does it well enough to create an enjoyable film. It must be difficult for anyone to pan a movie with Amy Adams in it. All she has to do is stand there and give you a blank stare and you’d still feel for her character. On the other hand, Blunt has to work for it, and in this case she does. It’s just too bad the script is a little weak where her character could have really shined.

You can pick up Sunshine Cleaning on DVD for $29.98. The DVD also comes with audio commentary with writer Megan Holley and producer Greg Williamson, “Sunshine Cleaning: A Fresh Look at a Dirty Business,” the theatrical trailer and some sneak peeks. If you opt for the Blu-ray edition it’ll cost you $39.98, but it’ll give you access to BD-Live. Whether or not you decide to buy the film, you can click here and enter to win a $500 or $1,000 Salon Wish gift certificate.